


The Trickster of Seville

by AislingSiobhan



Category: Captain America (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Canon Het Relationship, Dubious Consent, F/M, Het and Slash, Infidelity, Loki Does What He Wants, Loki Feels, Loki is jane though, M/M, Mildly Dubious Consent, Mistaken Identity, Not Avengers: Age of Ultron (Movie) Compliant, Not Captain America: Civil War (Movie) Compliant, Shapeshifter Loki, Slash, Tony Stark Does What He Wants, Winter Soldier Bucky Barnes, Winter is Tony's bro
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-11
Updated: 2016-11-11
Packaged: 2018-08-30 06:30:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,796
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8522203
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AislingSiobhan/pseuds/AislingSiobhan
Summary: What had started off as a game to him, satisfying his curiosity & a bit of petty revenge against Thor by ruining the reputation of his girlfriend had turned into something to be cherished but kept hidden to preserve the reputation of Loki's boyfriend. He had nightmares sometimes about Thor returning & finding them together, of not being able to protect Tony from Thor’s wrath; about Tony finding out & leaving. He kept his waking mind busy fretting over Tony’s friendship with the Winter Soldier, but really, the person Loki was most jealous of was Jane. Now he had another reason to be, because Tony didn't love Loki - even though he'd said it to Loki. Tony loved Jane.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Horns of Mischief (Rinelin)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rinelin/gifts).



> Hi... I'm posting early (with permission) because of work issues. Link to the art work will follow, as Reinlin isn't due to post until Saturday. Mwah x
> 
>  
> 
> EDIT: Art is here http://horns-of-mischief.tumblr.com/post/153075802063/my-art-contribution-to-this-years-frostiron-bang ❤

This is for the 2016 Frostiron Bang. I created a Word.doc for this in November 2013, wrote about 10 words, deleted them, gave up, but resurrected it because Frostiron Bang demanded an idea and this was the idea my brain suggested... I hope you enjoy it.

 

**“The Trickster of Seville”**

**Disclaimer:** The Avengers, Tony, Loki, etc. belong to Marvel, Stan Lee, et co. I make no money from this and own nothing, don’t sue.  
**Summary:** What had started off as a game to him, satisfying his curiosity  & a bit of petty revenge against Thor by ruining the reputation of his girlfriend had turned into something to be cherished but kept hidden to preserve the reputation of Loki's boyfriend. He had nightmares sometimes about Thor returning & finding them together, of not being able to protect Tony from Thor’s wrath; about Tony finding out & leaving. He kept his waking mind busy fretting over Tony’s friendship with the Winter Soldier, but really, the person Loki was most jealous of was Jane. Now he had another reason to be, because Tony didn't love Loki - even though he'd said it to Loki. Tony loved Jane.  
**Warnings:** Slash. Tony/Loki. Tony/Jane (Loki). Thor/Jane. Shapeshifting. Post-Avengers. AU Civil War. AU-AOU. Mistaken infidelity? Dubious consent (because Loki thinks Tony thinks Loki isn’t Loki)? M/F. M/M. Winter Solider. Tony  & Bucky friendship. Avenger cameos.  
**Rating:** R  
**Beta** : Araea Swiftwind  
**Artist:** horns-of-mischief/Rinelin  
**A/N:** Title is the name of a play which was the first fully developed dramatisation of the legend of Don Juan, who convinces people that he was the man (generally it was a different man) who seduced various women to cause mischief… (The Trickster of Seville and the Stone Guest). 

_XXX_

**Words:** 12,486  
**Chapter 1**  
It was like deja vu. 

The hiss of displaced air as Mjölnir swung between them; Thor’s enraged bellowing; Loki's attempts to avoid being knocked into the next century. Only, this time, Thor wasn't aiming for Loki. But Loki had been hit before, several times, and he knew how much damage Mjölnir could cause. Tony wouldn't survive if Thor managed to land a hit on him, and Loki would, so Loki ducked and dived between them, keeping Thor from Tony and, hopefully, Mjölnir from him. 

"How dare you touch her!" Thor roared, as he lifted his arm back again for another swing. 

"It's not his fault!" Loki responded, voice as loud as his brother's but much higher, more feminine. 

Thor turned to him then, eyes wide and watery, bottom lip trembling. He looked utterly devastated, and Tony might have felt bad for the guy except Thor had just tried to kill him. 

"Jane," he half moaned, half pleaded, "why?" 

'Jane' sighed loudly, shaking her head. Loki rolled his shoulders back, took a few more steps to the left so he was once again directly between Thor and Tony, and then allowed his disguise to melt away. 

"Did you mourn me, brother?" Loki asked, trying for snide but only achieving tired. Mjölnir hit the ground hard enough to shake it, and Thor followed suit, fingers trembling until he wrapped them around his knees and held on as the world was pulled out from underneath him again. 

"You're alive," he breathed. 

"Uh, you didn't know?" Tony asked, one eyebrow rising in confusion. 

_XXX_

It all started when Odin slipped into the Odinsleep. Again. It seemed to be his convenient excuse for avoiding awkward family discussions, Loki realised, watching with wide green eyes as the Allfather slumped down before him. Loki was still bleeding from the wound the Kursed had inflicted on him, his magic depleted and his strength failing him. There was no chance of him fighting off the troop of Einherjar that would surely come running once Heimdallr shared his version of events. He'd have seen the Allfather fall, he'd have seen Loki appear first, still a criminal but very much alive (despite having already seen his death), and no doubt Heimdallr would put two and two together and reach five. Aside from fighting, Loki was left with one other option. 

In the blink of an eye, he used his magic to change his form and to hide the Allfather's body from view. He lay down, eyes closed, and willed his breathing to slow, begged his heart rate to calm, and prayed his wounds didn't start bleeding anew. The Einherjar almost took the doors off of their hinges in their haste to reach the Allfather, but they carried him to the healing halls and Eir fixed the kursed wound in his gut in less time than it took a person to change their garments, and then the Einherjar left the Allfather be. Loki declared himself to be dead, announced that he was attacked by an impostor wearing Loki's face - an emotional wound to accompany the one the impostor left in his stomach - and, because he could, posthumously pardoned his crimes. Loki planned to use his time as Odin wisely; he firmly believed in starting as he intended to go on - in this case, his plans for revenge against Thanos would go much smoother if the Asgardians were on his side. 

Odin was left to sleep in his chambers, with no Allmother to watch him (and the thought still made Loki's chest hurt so he preferred not to think of it at all). Loki slept on the divan in Odin's rooms, in case Heimdallr was watching, and made sure to keep the real Allfather out from under his sight. 

Thor came and begged to leave. Loki let him go. As much as he might have matured in recent years, Thor was still too quick to anger, too quick to judge. Loki would do better without Thor by his side - and if he couldn't quite make himself believe that lie, at least he knew it to be true that Thor was probably the only remaining person in Asgard who could tell Loki's illusions for what they were. Thor would have known he was not the Allfather, and that just won't do. So, let him go. Let him leave. Loki told Thor he was proud of him and silently told himself he didn't care as Thor walked away from him; picked that woman over _him_ again. 

From Hlidskjalf, Loki could see everything within the nine realms that he turned his eye to. From Niffleheimr to Jötunheimr to Midgard, nothing was barred to his gaze. Thanos too had set his sights on Midgard, but Loki had woken an army (small and fragile though they might be, they had defeated Thanos' army in the end) and he kept his gaze on his warriors, protected them when he could spare the magic, prayed to his mother for them when he couldn't. When the Soul Stone attempted to wreak havoc, Loki sent Odin's ravens to steal it. The intelligence they had nicknamed Ultron did not awaken, and Tony Stark and Bruce Banner left their lab to join their friends, to drink and be merry, none the wiser until the next morning that the Stone was gone. 

Though he could not see outside of the nine realms, Loki could walk within the dreams of mortals. There was one mortal who existed outside of the World Tree, and that same mortal had tangled against Thanos' forces already - though he fought against the Kree, Loki had easily shown him the truth of Ronan's war, of the Orb, and the terrifying inability to flee from Death once Thanos set his sights upon you. It would come down to kill or be slaughtered: there would be no fight, no honour, no glory. If he were feeling merciful, Thanos would merely do as Ronan tried to do, and blow the planet up around you. If he were not... well, Loki could attest to the horrors that Thanos was capable of inflicting, the way he liked to toy with creatures, play with them until the broke so he could piece them back together again in his image with scrap and metal and spare parts of those more fortunate (those who managed to die and stay dead). Peter Quill quite happily handed over the Power Stone. Along with a promise to keep an eye and an ear open and welcome Loki into his dreams if Thanos tried anything further. 

When SHIELD collapsed in on itself, Loki did what he could for the Avengers. He even found them two new members, twins who had been enhanced by the Tesseract and his old sceptre while in Hydra's hands. They weren't fond of Tony, and that was putting it lightly, but Hydra had been using them to kill people, good people, and lied about the reasons why - Loki had shown them why and even walked through their dreams and made them nightmares until each of the twins understood exactly what kind of a world awaited them after Project Insight. It had been more than enough to change their minds. The Winter Soldier was oddly resistant to magic, Loki's suggestions that he hand himself over to Captain America went unheard and stronger attempts to control his mind resulted in a lot of loud, Russian screaming and Loki slumped in Hlidskjalf with a splitting headache. 

Without Ultron, there were no Sokovia Accords; no civil war. If the Allmother had lived, she would have smiled coyly and told Loki that the future was what you made it, regardless of what she had seen - because futures were made from potential and a person's potential was ever changing and growing. 

Bucky Barnes still existed, and the Winter Soldier was still a problem - but before Loki could attempt to deal with it, Odin woke up. 

_XXX_

Having already pardoned Loki, Odin wasn't able to go back on his word without losing face. He wouldn't explain to the people that not one of them had managed to tell the difference between him and his son in the two and a half years that had passed. Instead, he listened to Loki's explanations (the first Loki had ever given for his actions upon Midgard) and he sent his ravens out in search of proof (that hadn't passed the lips of the Liesmith). Once Loki was gone, Odin sent word to Thor, calling him home. 

With Thor gone from Midgard, it seemed the best place for Loki to go. Álfheimr had too small a population, and he was a Prince in Vanaheimr - he would never pass unnoticed. Jötunheimr wasn't even an option - Loki would rather die for real than live there. Svartalfheimr, where he had supposedly died, might be an option - no one would think to search for him there. He had always found Muspelheimr to be too hot, the air too sticky, and only the dead passed through Niflheimr to reach Helheimr. And Nidavellir- well, let's just say that if Loki never saw another Dwarf again he wouldn't be sorry about it. 

It was pure coincidence that Loki appeared through a rip in the veil that separated the worlds from the Yggdrasil at the entrance of a nightclub just as Tony Stark was stumbling out. They bumped into one another, but due to Loki's own body density and Stark's inebriated state, it was the mortal who ended up sprawled on the ground. As he picked himself up and brushed off his overly expensive pants, Loki pulled up another glamour. When Tony finally glanced over at him, probably ready to start a fight with the guy who knocked him on his ass, he was met with the sight of a tall, thin blonde woman with overly large breasts. 

"Did it hurt?" Tony drawled, dragging up as much dignity as he could manage given the situation. 

Loki rubbed at his collarbone, where Tony had elbowed him, and said, "not really."

"That's not how you respond, darling. You're supposed to say, 'did what hurt?', so I can say 'when you fell from heaven'." He winked and raised one eyebrow slowly in invitation. "Would you like to start this conversation again or shall we skip straight to the part where I show you a good time?" 

Loki debated for a moment just kicking Stark in the groin, or punching the smug smile off of his face, but he had spent over two years watching the man. He knew Stark was good in bed, and it had been a long twenty-nine months of pretending to be a four thousand plus year old man, which didn't exactly make him popular with the ladies (not that Loki ever had been, in all honesty). While he didn't hate Stark, and the sting of his defeat had long faded, mostly Loki considered how annoyed Thor would be to learn that Loki had once more seduced and tainted one of his friends. His hand, with long nails painted blue, reached out until Tony's curled around it, sliding forward until she could settle in the crook of his arm, too tall to rest her head against his shoulder as they walked to Tony's waiting car. 

_XXX_

The next time Loki saw Tony Stark, he was slightly shorter and brunette. Still a woman, because Tony was more likely to be seen in public with one than with a man, but his chest was more modest, hips curvier, ass wider. It was an engagement party for two of Stark's closest friends, and Loki had managed to steal an invitation from someone else (who conveniently remembered they had a prior engagement but forgot to let Stark know they wouldn't be attending) and taken her place. Tony brought her drinks, and she drank them and smiled, and laughed, head thrown back whenever she found something Stark said to be genuinely funny. She leant towards him, shoulders angled just right so he could look down her top if he wanted to, lashes lowered so she could look up at him seductively, giggling as he ran his hands down her back and ass. 

Pepper and Happy danced a lot on and off over the course of the night. Sometimes Pepper danced with Tony, and Loki watched from the sofa, legs crossed at the ankles and a drink held between long, thin fingers, smirking as she winked at him over Pepper's shoulder. Sometimes Tony danced with other people, and he danced with Loki once, but she went to the bathroom afterwards and came back to find Tony dancing with _her_. 

Something hot and vicious curled through him, like magma after an eruption, snaking across every inch of land before it and destroying everything it touched. It was worse than the explosion itself because there was no warning, no noise, no fire; like a tsunami, appearing in the distance and then slamming down on you within seconds because there was nowhere to run. Rage burnt him alive from the inside out, hate and jealousy and pettiness. Loki wasn't even that fond of Stark - yes, he'd spied on him for almost three years, and yes Stark had made him smirk and laugh and sob with pleasure, but he shouldn't care who Tony spent time with. He didn't care. What bothered Loki was that it was _her_. Always, always her. First, Thor had picked her over his own brother, and now Stark did the same? Why was she here anyway, why wasn't she in Asgard with Thor complaining about Loki and New Mexico and slapping people for no reason? Why was she laughing and rolling her eyes and punching Stark playfully on the shoulder as his hands settled more firmly on her waist? 

"Am I interrupting?" Loki drawled, both eyebrows raised. He hoped he appeared casual and unaffected, but he probably didn't. Jane Foster had that effect on him. 

"Debbie!" Tony's lips curled up on one side, slow and easy, like he hadn't been caught flirting with Thor's girlfriend. "No, course not, gorgeous. Wanna dance?" He drew away from Jane and tugged Loki to his chest before he could answer. Long arms encircled Tony's neck instinctively, Tony's rested on his waist, and they swayed together slowly despite the fact that the song that was playing was far more upbeat. "Later?" He mouthed at Jane when he thought Loki wasn't paying attention. 

Loki didn't see him, or hear him, but he saw Jane's mouth form a reply, and he narrowed his eyes at the sight of her agreement. 

Jane had already stolen his brother from him, his home, his mother. She would not be allowed to ruin Loki's fun now, to take anything more that he had claimed for himself. There would be no later, not for Jane. Loki would make sure of it.

_XXX_

It had been easy to get Odin's attention without attracting Heimdallr's. He walked through the dreams of a handful of mortals, one in each continent, and whispered her name like a prayer, until they were all repeating it in their sleep. The words drew Odin's attention from Hlidskjalf and he knew - he always knew - that Loki was playing a game again: games for Asgardians were far more fatal when played against mortals. It wasn't a decision he was pleased to make, but Odin made it, for Thor's sake. 

The night after the engagement party, Jane was in a bed at Stark Tower. The morning after, she awoke in Asgard. 

Loki crept into her bed that night, changed his face and his voice and his body, and walked through her dreams until he knew everything there was to know about Jane Foster. Until he knew enough to become her. Then he went in search of Tony Stark. 

_XXX_

It started off slow. There was some of Tony Stark - playboy, billionaire, philanthropist- in him still, just not as much, though he was ever a genius. With those faceless women Loki had pretended to be, Tony _tried_ in a way that seemed effortless. With Jane, he was wholly uninterested. There were curiosity and respect, and sometimes a hint of something like attraction that sparked in his gorgeous wide eyes, but he didn't try to seduce her or woo her - and it was less out of respect for Thor than it was from respect for _her_ as a fellow scientist. That intrigued Loki, made him curious; made _him_ respect Stark. 

For three weeks they spent time together in Tony's lab. Loki practically moved in over the course of four days and woke on the fifth to the sight of Morgan Manhattan hauling 'her stuff' into the Tower. Loki never complained, other than to question why he was on the floor below the penthouse and not sharing it, considering they spent most if not all of their free time together. Morgan Manhattan had to move his possessions once more. 

Tony looked at her funny sometimes, eyes drifting from the tilt at the tip of Jane's nose to the wide of her own brown eyes, to the bow of her upper lip, like he was studying her. He focuses on her breasts a couple of times that Loki had noticed, eyebrows furrowed like he didn't understand their purpose, to the width of her hips, the curve of her throat; sometimes he ran his fingers through her hair, from skull to shoulder blades before curling the ends around his fingers to play with them when he was too lost in their conversation to notice. 

JARVIS, when asked, had gently tried to dissuade his creator, but eventually gave in because - curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back, right? When JARVIS had said that, Tony had thrown his head back and laughed maniacally, proud of his baby and amused in equal measure. But not at all dissuaded. So, halfway through their fourth week 'together', Tony invited Jane out for dinner. Loki agreed rather enthusiastically; so much so, they ended up not going out at all. 

_XXX_

There was something odd about the blonde woman from the nightclub, but Tony had been too drunk to really care. JARVIS had tried to warn him of something, as he stumbled out of the penthouse elevator with her on his arm, but Tony had muted him with a mumbled command and a negligent wave of his hand: more interested in steering his companion to the bedroom. Debbie had been an odd duck too, Tony realised after she had disappeared into thin air. He'd spent the night fawning over her, knowing he was going to get some, and then she'd simply vanished. JARVIS insisted she was still in the Tower, but he couldn't find her using facial recognition or the security team Tony had authorised. Jane had practically grown roots around that time, though, distracting him from really giving a fuck about Debbie whatshername anyway. Jane was smart and sweet and vicious when she needed to be. She reminded Tony of Pepper. But less bossy (except in the bedroom, as Tony later discovered). Three weeks after Pepper and Happy's engagement party, Tony realised what was so familiar about all three women: they were the same woman. 

Or man. 

They might be the same man, either, Tony wasn't judging. Nor was he fussy. 

They gave off the same radiation signature, the same vitals, measured through the technology Tony had created in the wake of the Chitauri invasion to measure what Thor called magic and what Tony called people... According to his technology, Jane, the blonde and Debbie were all one person. He knew the what, but Tony was deathly curious about the who. And the why. 

JARVIS hadn't talked him out of finding out, so he would. In the easiest way he knew how. By getting her into bed. 

_XXX_

"Morning Jane. Oh, hey Tony - heading to bed now?" Bruce greeted them softly as they stumbled into the kitchen at 7am. Jane was in a pair of cheap pyjama pants and a tank top, her hair in a messy bun at the back of her head with most of her hair actually hanging loose around her neck. Tony should have been in grease-stained jeans and a band-themed t-shirt, as he headed out of the workshop, to the shower and eventually to bed. This morning though Tony was wearing nothing but a pair of Iron Man themed boxer shorts. His hair was spiky, as if he had run his fingers through it repeatedly, trying to hide the fact that it was badly mussed from sleep. Bruce's mouth dropped open, one eyebrow rising in surprise. "Did you just wake up?" 

"Hmm? Morning," Tony mumbled, as he ambled his way towards the coffee machine. JARVIS turned it on for him, just as Jane reached around him and slid a cup into the gap between nozzle and counter. "Thanks."

Bruce was pretty sure that they had both forgotten he was there. His mouth was already open to remind them of his presence when his brain caught up to his eyes, and instead, he blurted out: "Is Jane wearing your top?"

"Hmm?" Tony took a large gulp of his coffee, and ended up dribbling most of it back out, waving one hand frantically in front of his mouth and shouting, "hot, hot, hot!" It wasn't hot; Bruce knew it wasn't hot because Tony guzzled the rest of the cup in one go and fled the kitchen. 

Tony might have escaped but Jane was still there to interrogate. Jane watched Tony go, before glancing over at Bruce with a frown on her face; her eyes were narrowed, her lips pursed, and her hands were on her hips over her (and he was absolutely sure about this) borrowed from Tony tank top. Bruce re-thought his decision, dismissed it as a bad idea, and then turned silently back to his porridge, chewing each mouthful slowly and loudly so that Jane could hear him specifically not questioning her choice of morning attire. He wasn't going to ask about Thor, or about Tony's 7am start to the day, or about Tony actually going to bed for once without being forced... Bruce wasn't even going to think about that. He was just going to eat his porridge, avoid Jane's eyes as she left the kitchen, and (maybe corner Tony in the lab later when Jane wasn't looking) mind his own business. 

_XXX_

Jane and Thor hadn't broken up. But since she wasn't actually Jane, Tony wasn't breaking any bro-rules. Just because whoever she was had managed to hide the sigils and runes that normally accompanied a visit by the intergalactic rainbow bridge, didn't mean that JARVIS hadn't noticed the Bifrost opening up in Jane's bedroom on the night of Happy and Pepper's engagement party. JARVIS had noticed, and he'd told Tony, and together they had started an investigation (JARVIS far more reluctantly than his creator). Still, it was poor form on his part to get caught by Bruce. Unless he wanted to a) get beat up for banging Thor's girl, or b) explain to his mean green science bro that he was playing a real-life version of 'Guess Who?' with a Mutant/alien/Enhanced/all of the above for shits and giggles (which, no, he did not want to do), Tony was going to stick with option c) do better at avoiding the Avengers. 

Which meant, have sex in the lab, or the shower, or his bedroom, but not her bedroom because then you'll fall asleep with her and leave at 7am and get caught by Bruce. Stop letting her wear your clothes. Spend some more time with the others, without Jane, so no one thinks you are avoiding them and stalks you to your lab, or the shower, or your bedroom (fucking Clint, fucking vents, fucking jealous cockblocking bird-guy). 

It's as they say, Tony thought to himself a day later in the workshop (without Jane), the road to hell was paved with good intentions. 

Plan to spend time with other people. Sure, and what happens? The Winter Soldier breaks in and falsely imprisons him in his own lab... Apparently, Barnes had been waiting till he was alone. And here he was, finally alone. Fucking-A. 

"So..." Tony tried again. His last attempt at negotiating had gotten him glared at for a solid seven minutes; the time before that had resulted in a shove and a ten-minute glare, so, things were looking up. "I'm gonna take a wild guess," he said, as he anxiously tapped his fingers over where the arc reactor used to be [he wanted to say "a stab in the dark", but he didn't want to give Barnes ideas], "and say you'd thought about my offer and the answer is no? Unless silence is acceptance, but I'm not sure if a Court'll accept that in Good ol' NY." 

"You can't leave!" It was more of an order than a request, but the desperation that crossed Barnes' face, that widened his eyes and made his lips tremble, his hands shake, got Tony to stop and consider. It was the first thing Barnes had said other than, "you're finally alone, it's been fucking ages!", when he first made himself known: slipped out of the shadows like they were a part of him, hair a greasy halo that cast more shadows across his face. 

"Please don't leave." These words were whispered. The "Please" that followed even softer, like Barnes had already given up hope and didn't even want Tony to hear it. He heard it, though - JARVIS heard it, and through Extremis Tony heard it too. He also heard the hitch in Bucky's breathing, a choked off sob forced back down before it could erupt, unwanted and unneeded and unappreciated. No one had cared if he cried before, not for 70 fucking years, so why would Tony Stark be any different? 

The engineer bit his bottom lip. His fingers tapped harder against his chest. Steve had been off gallivanting around after Barnes for months - almost a year, now. The Soldier had always managed to keep himself hidden, wiping out Hydra cells all over Eastern Europe, then into the mainland, and then back into the US: always one step ahead of the Avengers, always just out of reach of Steve. 

"Fine. But if Steve finds you here, I'm going to tell him you kidnapped me and forced me not to reveal your location with torture. I mean it," Tony rambled as he cautiously made his way around Barnes, to the coffee machine and switched it on. "I do, you know. The worst of the worst; I'll tell him you did it, to me – Japanese rope bondage, Justin Bieber songs on repeat, those weird sticky finger paper toys that you can never get off? All of them. I had no choice but to give in!" Tony glanced over with a wide grin, only to be met with Bucky's wide blue eyes. He felt his lips twitch against his will, unable to be amused by how adorably confused the other man looked. "You'll tell him I fought you off valiantly, though, brave to the end, right? That's the deal, Barnes."

"James," the Soldier responded softly. He came closer to Tony, right hand held out shakily, like he wasn't sure if he was allowed to touch – like he couldn't remember if this was the right thing to do. Tony shook his flesh hand, two firm shakes, and then a pat on the left shoulder once he pulled away. Where the metal arm met his shoulder, to be specific, like there was nothing odd (wrong with him) about it. "I'd kill for a cup of joe."

"As long as it's not me, I can understand that." Tony handed over his own cup, fetched and made another, and then turned to face his sort-of kidnapper. "What do you need?"

"My arm hurts." It was whispered again, uncertain, afraid; strange to hear from a man who was supposed to be the stuff of nightmares. Tony knew Barnes gave Natasha nightmares, at least. 

"Can I take a look at it?" He watched as Barnes squeezed the fingers of his right hand around the mug, loosened them, and squeezed again, to the beat of Tony's own heartbeat – hummingbird fast in his chest. Bucky must have been just as scared, Tony thought, of him. Of being hurt by him. "Only if you want me to. I won't hurt you. Steve would kick my ass."

"Not if I kick his first," Bucky tried to joke. There was a hint of Brooklyn in his accent now, just enough for Tony to hum at the familiarity of it, to mentally compare it to Steve's and smile about it. Whatever Barnes saw in his expression seemed to make up his mind for him, because he put down the cup – untouched – and walked calmly over to Tony's workbench and the chair that Jane had been using for the last couple months. "You won't hurt me," Barnes parroted as he sat down. 

Tony told himself it was for his benefit only, ‘cause thinking of it being for Bucky's was like a punch in the gut. Either way, he repeated: "I won't hurt you."

Then he got to work. 

_XXX_

Turned out there was a lot wrong with James' arm. Health benefits for their supersoldiers were apparently not included in the Hydra package plan. The arm was grafted straight to his ribs and his shoulder blade, solid metal except for where the panelling hid wires and a power source (old, outdated fossil that it was), it was heavy. It tugged on other parts of James' body, made him lift his right side too high to compensate, strained his neck and his back, and gave him an odd sort of a limp that was only noticeable when he relaxed enough - when he wasn't holding himself together stiff and tense and straight. It made Tony's chest ache, sympathy pains from the arc reactor that was no longer there. James kept his right hand over the space where Tony's ribs had been re-grafted, his skin regrown, nanotechnology and Helen Cho working on getting him back in one piece – until he perfected Extremis enough to replace them. It seemed to calm him while Tony worked; the Solider hadn't so much as grimaced as Tony prodded at his arm, tugging wires and moving panelling. He'd flinched when Tony pulled out the battery, gasped when it was replaced with an arc reactor, and ignored every one of Tony's explanations - his rambled commentary on his actions - in favour of keeping himself calm. The beat of Tony's heart was a constant, safe sound: it was calm, loud enough for James' enhanced hearing to pick up and strong enough to feel through muscle and clothing, but not any more than necessary to keep his body functioning. Tony wasn't afraid. Not of James. Not anymore. Knowing that, hearing it and feeling it - it kept James calm too while Tony worked. 

It took them approximately 11 hours to replace the power source, some of the old wires and the exposed panelling. There was more Tony would have liked to do, but that would have taken longer. He had ideas, in his mind, for a brand new arm - vibranium and lightweight, to lessen the strain on Barnes' ribs and spine, he'd need to replace that star with a Stark Industries logo come to think of it, or design something new. Or was the star a Winter Soldier thing (rather than a Hydra thing?), maybe he should leave it on? He was mentally composing an email to King T'Chaka when the lab door slid open, glass moving out of Jane's way as she stormed inside. 

"You missed our date!" She sounded furious and her cheeks had flushed a dark red. She was drumming her fingers against her thighs - unlike the real Jane, who tended to place her hands on her hips and tap one foot. 

As Tony had been thinking, he had been greasing down Bucky's arm, to keep the panels clean and in good condition. He ended up with the brush and can on the floor and the lubricant half across his lap as the Winter Soldier sprung up from his chair and shoved Tony unceremoniously across the work bench. So, yeah, maybe he was trying to protect Tony from his girlfriend slash alien Prince in disguise (cause yeah, there were definitely tell-tale signs of green mist sparking at the tips of Loki's fingertips now - Tony had thought he had seen it before, the last time he came home from an Avengers mission gone wrong, but this time he was sure). But did James really have to shove him so hard? Measly human here, remember? 

Comma. Of average strength. 

"Stay away from him!" The Soldier growled as he bent his knees, preparing himself to lunge at the threat. 

Jane narrowed her eyes, snarling viciously in response in a way that actually was rather arousing. Tony knew it shouldn't be, but sue him, ok? He couldn't help himself. He had his childhood hero and his current girlfriend-cum-secret-spank-bank-contender fighting over him: he was fucking loving it. Uh, until Jane blasted Bucky into the workbench Tony was tucked behind and squashed him. 

"Ow." He groaned pathetically. It successfully distracted Loki from the fact that Tony had totally seen him performing magic and JARVIS had so gotten a reading of it this time (way to go, J, Tony mentally cheered), but it also really hurt. He was getting too old to have supersoldiers and furniture falling on him! 

"Tony!" Jane called his name frantically, as she dashed around the edge of the workbench and carefully lifted it off of Tony. Her sudden increase in strength could be blamed on the fact that Barnes chose that moment to help lift the desk, climbing off of Tony in the process. "Are you ok? I'm so sorry!" 

"I'm fine. Barnes is on a diet from now on, no complaints, James - you're fucking heavy. But I'm fine." He turned to look the Soldier up and down, taking in the pale face and the sweat collecting between his eyebrows (nervous, afraid, Tony's brain pointed out), the tapered waist and wide, muscular thighs, and sighed. "Ok, so it's mostly muscle, but seriously, no more spinach for you, Pop Eye." Tony rubbed his shoulder with his right hand, moved his left to clutch at his opposite ribs, and leant gratefully against Jane as she tugged him closer. 

"I-" James tried to say, but was stopped by Jane's glare of death. "She's-" he began instead. 

Tony winked at James over Jane's shoulder, so she couldn't see. "I know," he mouthed, then added out loud, "you need a room big guy, or you got somewhere to stay already? Always welcome, of course, gotta make the whole kidnapping and torture thing believable when Steve comes back and I need hella pity. We've got some more work to do on that arm, but I can do that alone and you can just drop by whenever if that's easier?"

Bucky wanted to stay for his arm, but he also wanted to stay because Stark had been kind to him. Kinder than anyone he could remember, other than Steve and his mom. His mom was long dead, and he didn't really have Steve anymore - couldn't let himself have Steve when Bucky could barely remember his name some mornings - he wasn't the guy Steve was searching for, and until he was he couldn't risk driving Steve away. But Tony? Tony was Howard's son (Bucky owed him for that alone, for what he'd done to Howard and his wife), whip-smart and special, a good man, and despite his 'I know,' he obviously didn’t know – that woman wasn't who Tony thought she was. James wasn't leaving him alone with her, wasn't going to let her hurt Tony, not if he could help it. 

"Do I get my own bathroom? If not, I'll stick to my motel."

Tony snorted, amused rather than offended, and waved at James to follow them out of the lab. "We're hiding from the other Avengers, so ask JARVIS and he'll warn you when it's free to move around. This elevator," he said pointing to the one on the left, "goes straight to the penthouse. It'll be easier to keep this from Steve if you take the spare room on my floor. It's just me and Jane, and we've both seen you already, so?"

"Yeah, sure," Bucky agreed easily. He just as easily ignored Jane's bared teeth and curling lip. All the better to keep an eye on you with, Bucky thought, forcing himself to smirk at her, goading her as he reached out his left hand to clap Tony on the back lightly. "Thanks, man."

"Mi casa es su casa, Buckaroo. Welcome home." Well damn, but didn't he like the sound of that, James realised as the elevator doors opened before him, revealing the lobby of the penthouse in all her glory. "Let me give you the tour!" 

_XXX_

He did _not_ like having the Winter Soldier existing - let alone living - so close to his Tony. 

It wasn't just the fact that the Soldier was so much stronger than Tony, dangerous and unpredictable; nor was it the way the Soldier stared at Loki like he _knew_. It was the fact that Tony genuinely seemed to enjoy the Soldier's company. Tony smiled, laughed, ( _fucking giggled_ one time earlier that week), kept inviting Barnes into the workshop and locking Loki out. Last night, Tony hadn't come to bed. Loki would know: he'd abandoned Jane's room, and waited in Tony's, legs crossed and arms folded, sat in the center of the bed, waiting - growing more and more agitated until he'd finally fallen asleep. It wasn't the first time either, probably wouldn't be the last: Loki was 'this close' to calling Captain America and reporting Barnes' whereabouts - maybe that would make Barnes leave, or Steve would take him away from Tony. But that would also bring more Avengers back to the Tower, and they'd be in Loki's way too. 

JARVIS would probably rat him out and Tony would never speak to him again anyway, so really, it wasn't worth the trouble no matter how much Barnes was getting on his nerves. Or how jealous Loki was. And he really shouldn't slap Tony for laughing at him because that wasn't very endearing. 

"Come on, babe," Tony cajoled gently, "don't be like that." Loki sneered at him, then turned his face away pointedly. Bucky continued to eat the (purposely) burnt toast Loki had served him, appearing completely unbothered by the fact that Loki had first accidentally (purposely) knocked the toast Bucky had made himself onto the floor. Loki was not appreciative of Tony defending Barnes against him, especially not by chastising him, for being rude, in front of the Soldier. "This is getting ridiculous, Jane." Tony tried again, but Loki only tilted his chin further up, scowled harder and stayed silent. He probably hadn't meant to say it, not like that - just slipping out without explanation or warning, but Tony said it. "You know I love you, babe, you don't need to be jealous, you know that right? James and I science sometimes, like, you know, how we science, but not the same cause we wear shirts and pants at all times, promise darling. JARVIS, back me up here."

Before JARVIS could respond, Loki whispered, "I love you too." There were tears gathering at the corner of his eyes, his throat suddenly felt like the Sahara had packed itself up and moved in without warning, and there was a heavy weight in the bottom of his stomach that made him feel sick. 

"I love you too," Loki repeated because he did: desperately. What had started off as a game to him, satisfying his curiosity and earning a bit of petty revenge against Thor by ruining the reputation of his girlfriend had turned into something to be cherished but kept hidden to preserve the reputation of Loki's boyfriend. He had nightmares sometimes about Thor returning and finding them together, of Thor finding out while Loki wasn't around to protect Tony from his wrath; nightmares about Tony finding out (not Thor), of Tony leaving. He kept his waking mind busy fretting over the Soldier, but really, the person Loki was most jealous of was Jane. Now he had another reason to be because Tony didn't love Loki - even though he'd said it to Loki. 

Tony loved Jane. 

Not him. 

But Loki was the reason it had happened, and he had no one to blame but himself, not Jane, not Barnes. Just him (and maybe Thor, because none of this would have happened if Thor hadn't gotten himself banished to Midgard in the first place). Revelation aside, it still didn't help Loki's mood that Barnes was still looking at him like _that_ , like he _knew_. If he so much as _thought_ about telling Tony, Loki would kill him. The glare slid back across his face, wiping away the awed yet sad expression that had crossed it when Tony had said those three words to him, and he rubbed furiously at the tears that were still gathering. Then he reached across the table and knocked the plate of fresh toast Tony had just made for Barnes right out of his hands. It hit the floor with the crash of shattering ceramic. Barnes continued to eat what remained of the burnt slices he had been served earlier, the smirk on his lips growing wider and wider as Tony turned wide eyes at his lover. 

"What the fuck was that for!" 

"You love me," Loki reminded the engineer, "you can't be angry with me."

"That's not how it fucking works, Lo-Jane!" Barnes caught the slip, judging by the narrowing of his eyes. Loki glared at Barnes again, considered the look that had crossed the Soldier's face before it went startlingly blank, but focused on Tony instead: he grinned widely, fluttered his eyelashes jokingly, and crossed his arms under his breasts to raise them. 

"But you love me?" He repeated as he pushed out his chest. 

"Yes," Tony sighed, slumping into his chair at the kitchen table resignedly, "I love you. Now, can we please have some edible breakfast?" Tony nudged the cereal bowl in front of him sadly. His Count Chocula had looked yummy and unhealthy and perfect until Bucky tried to steal a bit of it, and Loki's hand had suddenly slipped and spilt his ginger tea into the bowl. 

"I'll make pancakes," Loki said. Bucky was smart enough not to respond, and Tony agreed cheerfully and kept his mouth shut about the sheer number of pancakes that ended up on his plate compared to Bucky's. Whenever Loki's back was turned (and he could see this in the reflection of the window, and the fridge, and the kettle) Tony snuck some onto Barnes' plate. The fact that they tried so hard to be sneaky about it amused Loki enough to let it pass without comment. 

_XXX_

Two months. It had been two months since Barnes had moved in and everything had been going great. No calls to assemble, no surprise meetings with General Ross or Director Hill (with Fury lurking "secretly" in the background), Steve had stopped by for two days and then headed back out again chasing a trail colder than the ice he'd slept in for seventy years. The wonder twins had come back from some secret spy mission, noticed nothing different about the Tower, and left again six hours of sleep later. Everything was great. Until it wasn't. 

Tony would have gotten away with it, too, if it weren't for those meddling kids. 

"And their dog," he muttered under his breath, scowling. 

"What was that?" Pietro asked loudly, drawing everyone's attention to Tony again. 

The occupants of the Tower, namely the Maximoff twins, Bruce, Jane, Rhodey, Sam... and Bucky, stared at Tony. They had been staring at Bucky, but now they were staring at Tony, again. Thanks, Pietro, you little shit, Tony thought angrily. At least Steve wasn't there; Tony hated when Steve gave him that kicked puppy, how could you betray me, I thought we were friends, heartbroken looks. He was pretty much willing to offer up a kidney to get Steve to stop every time the super soldier tried it. Correction: Steve wasn't there, yet! Sam, the little shit, had just finished calling him. Rhodey had text Pepper while Bruce left Natasha a voicemail (which she'd share with Clint) because neither of them trusted him not to forbid JARVIS from doing it. Apparently, inviting an ex-brainwashed assassin to live with you requires a team meeting and a lease agreement written in the blood of Christ. That's not too much to ask for, Tony; why didn't you tell us, Tony; how could you have been so stupid, Tony; like Barnes wasn't standing right next to them, listening to them all judge him, accuse him, for something he hadn't done. He'd never hurt Tony (other than that time he got thrown at Tony courtesy of Loki airlines), never so much as threatened him (except that time he locked him in the lab and wouldn't let him leave, but that was a misunderstanding, water under the bridge). 

Tony reached out to squeeze Bucky's trembling right hand. Loki glanced at them, gritted his teeth and turned to face the Avengers. Barnes needed Tony more than Loki needed to be jealous. Barnes was, also, keeping his mouth shut about Jane not really being Jane, even though it would quickly and easily shift the attention away from him if he told. Loki appreciated that. 

"Leave him alone!" Jane's hands were on her hips, left foot tapping angrily against the ground as she glared each person down in turn. "Barnes hasn't done a thing to deserve the way you're treating him. Talking about how dangerous he is, like he isn't there, like you know anything about him. You disgust me!" Rhodey and Bruce looked chastised, at least, and the twins looked a little shifty (that was generally how you could tell they felt bad about something, or were up to something, or had broken something). 

Sam, though, Sam scoffed loudly, before he threw his head back and laughed. "Look, lady," he said, because he'd only gotten to the Tower when Steve had popped around last week and he hadn't met Jane before today, "the last time I met this dude he kicked my ass from one side of the roof to the other and knocked me out of the sky. Now don't get me wrong; shit happened to him, I get that. But I ain't ever letting my guard down around him, till Steve tells me it's safe to - cause Steve would know, I reckon. But Steve ain't here. So being that I'd know more about him than you do, how about you let us decide if he's safe to be around the kids, yeah?" He waved his hand at Wanda and Pietro (who, while young, didn't enjoy being described as kids after the way they'd lived so far). 

Tony snorted. It was an ugly sound, matched by the ugly scowl on his face, and the way Extremis made his cheeks and the whites of his eyes flush red from the inside. "Well since _I_ know him better than _you_ how about you fuck right off and let the door hit you on the way out?" He didn't wait for a response, barely acknowledged the wide-eyed looks his words attracted, as he held Bucky's hand tighter and started tugging in the direction of the elevator. "Come on, James, let's go science. You coming, love?" Tony called over his shoulder at Jane. 

Loki followed, smirking slightly at the ground until she passed Sam. Then her grin became smugger, fuller, and she winked at the shocked ex-soldier as she shouldered passed him, walking closer than was necessary. "We expect you to have vacated _our_ penthouse by the time we return." After emphasising the 'our' she nodded her head towards Bucky and Tony, making it quite obvious who she was siding with. 

"Tony!" Rhodes called out, moving swiftly across the kitchen to reach his best friend. "I'm coming too."

Tony smiled softly, clapped his friend on the shoulder with his free hand, and shook his head. "You're a traitor, Rhodey. I've got a new James to play with now, so you can sit here and think about what you've done and then bring us some of that Thai stuff I like in about," he trailed off to check his watch, "two hours." He blew a kiss as he backed into the elevator, winked once Jane was inside, standing behind Tony with Bucky next to her. JARVIS shut the elevator doors, sent them to the workshop, and turned on a livestream of the kitchen so Tony could revel in the chaos he'd caused. 

"Suppose there were worse ways for them to find out. At least now you have time to torture me some before Steve gets here - or he'll have time to calm down while he travels," Bucky snorted in disbelief, "you're right. He'll just get madder. Ok, torture it is. I know I have one of those stupid paper finger toys around here somewhere, and Jane has a belt, we can make this thing believable. I have faith in us. Go, team!" 

"Tony," Jane sighed, rolling her eyes, as she reached out to cup her lover's cheeks firmly between her hands. 

"Yes, dear?"

"Shut up."

Bucky snorted again, in amusement this time, and then groaned in disbelief again because he'd finally found something he agreed with Loki on. Who would have thought? They were bonding. 

"I hate you both," Tony groused, but not really meaning it. 

_XXX_

The impromptu team meeting in the kitchen had been the calm before the storm. This meeting was the hurricane that inevitably followed. 

Steve had arrived; with Natasha and Clint (apparently they had all been hunting down the Winter Soldier together). Clint was loud-mouthed and obnoxious, stirring up trouble for the sake of it, and Natasha was suspicious and narrow-eyed, annoyed. She'd attacked Bucky, been stopped by Rhodey, who then got into a fight with Wilson, which resulted in Wanda blowing up the toaster (don't ask how it happened, because Tony wasn't sure he had even followed it. He had been too busy staring at Steve). Steve was staring at him in return; not at Bucky. 

Steve was quiet. That was what was worrying Tony, more than anything else. 

He had expected shouting, some tears maybe; disappointed glances and heartbroken wide-eyed, wet glances. Not silence. Not stiff shoulders and straight back and raised chin. Steve was pissed: make no mistake. But he was pissed because he was hurt. That Tony had hidden Bucky from him or that Bucky had gone to Tony instead of him, Tony wasn't sure - but one of them had hurt him. 

"I kidnapped him," Bucky offered, with a small shrug of his shoulders. "My arm was hurting, so I locked him in his workshop until he fixed it. Does that make you feel better?" 

"Not really," Steve said calmly. He might have even pulled it off, except his hands clenched once behind his back before Steve shifted into parade rest. Tony eyed those hands warily; he knew how much getting hit by them hurt. "Why Buck? Why here?" _Why not me?_ was what he was really asking. 

"Because he's your friend. You wouldn't be friends with him if I couldn't trust him." He shrugged again, then added, his tone softer, sadder: "my arm hurt." 

Tony glanced around the kitchen. Broken toaster aside, two chairs were overturned, a couple plates had been smashed (dropped in surprise when Steve charged into the kitchen before JARVIS could announce him), and everyone's eyes were on Bucky (except Jane's). Tony nodded at the door, Jane nodded back, and ever the opportunist - they snuck out while Steve was distracted. According to JARVIS, there were tears and a lot more shouting, and Steve did eventually throw a punch accompanied by some imaginative cursing ("language, Rogers," Tony thought gleefully). Bucky gave back as good as he got, though, so Tony didn't feel too guilty for hiding away in his lab. He got some work done, he had sex with his girlfriend-boyfriend-Loki-person across one of the work benches, and the two super soldiers made up and hugged it out (with more tears). It was win-win in his books! 

And so what if Barnes didn't come down to the lab that afternoon - the couch didn't stay empty for long cause Tony fucked Jane on it twice. He didn't have a monopoly on Barnes' time, he reminded himself as he pulled Jane against his chest, sticky and sweaty but satisfied, Steve had had Bucky first so, of course, Bucky would pick Steve. They hadn't seen each other in seventy years. They had hella catching up to do! Tony had squirrelled him away for two months, after all, kept Barnes all to himself (and Jane); he could go a couple of days without him to let the super soldiers catch up. But only a couple of days, mind you: if Bucky didn't show up by Sunday Tony was going to drag him down to the lab by his metal arm - even if he had to do it using some pliers and a rather large magnet. 

"You think too loudly, love," Jane chastised with a laugh. "He was your friend before the Captain came back, and he'll be your friend after today I promise. Don't worry so much."

"What? Worried? Who's worried? I wasn't thinking about Barnes." Jane scoffed, turning her face to hide her smirk against Tony's throat. "I was thinking about breasts. Your breasts to be specific. Great breasts - very breast shaped, very nice, see," he reached out with his left arm, already wrapped around her shoulders, and cupped one breast and then the other, giving them a squeeze each. "I was thinking about doing that."

Jane pulled back to glare at him, and then down at her chest (which was rather on the small size). "Don't start something you won't finish, Mr Stark."

"I always finish what I've started, Ms Foster. Are you calling me a tease?"

"I'm going to call you something far less pleasant if you don't get on with it," she threatened lightly, before shoving Tony's shoulders so that he rolled onto his back. After climbing on top of him, her legs on either side of his hips, she reached down to wrap her fingers around his cock stroking him smoothly and firmly until he hardened. Positioning herself above him, Jane gasped loudly as she seated herself, allowing gravity to do most of the work. 

Tony snapped his hips up to meet her, his hands on her waist all that kept her from being unseated. "Consider this me getting on with it," he told her, smirking, before thrusting up again. The next time he rolled his hips up twice in quick succession, pulling her down to grind on him, before fixing his mouth over her right nipple and sucking. She moaned loudly, head thrown back. 

Barnes actually did come to visit Tony, but JARVIS thought it was better _not_ to let them in, all things considered. Steve flushed bright red, rubbing at his neck awkwardly. "Thor dumped her," Bucky lied - it wasn't his place to tell Steve that Jane wasn't really Jane but he didn't want Tony getting punched in the jaw for sleeping with another fella's gal either. 

"Oh," Steve mumbled. "We should, uh, yeah, leave." 

"They haven't told anyone," Bucky added almost frantically. "They didn't even tell me. I just, I saw by accident."

"Secret's safe with me, Buck, you know that." 

Neither Jane nor Tony noticed them arriving, or leaving, and JARVIS put the lab in lockdown mode until they eventually dressed and headed to bed four hours later. At which point, Tony was honestly too exhausted to panic about Steve knowing. Loki was concerned, but mostly pleased - Steve was the second of Tony's friends who knew about them. So maybe he hadn't told them as much as been caught out, but he wasn't planning to lie and hide their relationship either: it was a good start. If only Loki would work up the courage to tell Tony the truth - maybe then Tony would tell _all_ of his friends about them. 

Except Thor. 

Loki didn't want Thor coming back to the Tower or getting involved. Loki didn't want Thor knowing he was alive! 

Unfortunately, as the saying goes, one doesn't always get what they want. 

_XXX_

What had started off a little on the cloudy side – sunny spells and a gentle breeze — had turned into the mother of all storms the moment Tony finished packing the sandwiches Bruce had made into the cooler. Clint looked up at the ceiling (as if he could see the sky through the roof), bottles and cans of beers crushed against his chest as he attempted to pick up a few more. 

"Aw, rain, no!" Clint whined, spreading his arms and dropping the beers far more theatrically than necessary. Tony had rolled his eyes, zipped up the cooler bag, and turned to glance out of the window. 

The sky was dark grey, the rain fell heavily enough that they could hear it (once the sound of plastic and aluminium rolling across the tile floor stopped). What little sun had existed before was completely gone now - there was, according to JARVIS' calculations, a 0.1% chance of the weather clearing up; never mind CNN claiming it was going to eventually be the sunniest day of the month so far, lying liars who lied! 

Tony had grabbed Jane's hand, grabbed the cooler with the other and passed it to Bruce. The other scientist shrugged, turning to face the others, asked if they wanted to have the picnic in the living room instead: "Tony, do you-" but Tony was already gone. 

A picnic would have been fun, but Tony was more than happy to make his own fun on this occasion. Thunder and lightning battled outside of their bedroom window - each flash lighting the room up long enough for Tony to catch the wide-eyed, open-mouth expression on Jane's face; each of her cries and gasps and moans drowned out by the booming noise from outside. Rain hit the windows, like bullets, and Tony might have been concerned about the glass holding up under pressure but he had other more concerning matters to attend to - like the way Jane's nails dug into his shoulders and how her ankles were locked at the base of his spine, clinging to him, pulling him closer. The way she gasped against his chin, teeth and lips trying to catch him in sloppy nips and kisses every time he ducked his forehead down to rest against the top of her head. The way her breasts pressed against his chest, soft but sticky with sweat, heaving as she panted, as he pinned her to the mattress with his weight. The way she cried his name with every other thrust, aimed just right, making her arch her back and bare her throat and whine long and low, half mad with need. 

The way the building shook as something crashed into the landing pad on the floor below them went unnoticed. Shouting and running feet were ignored. Tony had more important things to focus on, like the way Jane clenched around his cock with every thrust and roll of his hips; the way she whispered "I love you" in his ear after she came, half deafening him with her screaming first; how close he was to coming, hard enough to hammer nails, aching and desperate and so fucking close. 

Thor bursting into the room in a shower of splinters and what was left of the door? There was no way he could ignore that!

Tony jerked away from Jane. It was more instinctual than anything else. He had to put distance between himself and the threat, raise one hand, charge the repulsor - attack. But there was no gauntlet, and Steve and Bucky were hot on Thor's heels and they didn't know about Extremis - they couldn't know about Extremis. The skin under his eyes was red, veins lighting up below his skin as if lava flowed through them in place of blood, irises red and the whites turning gold; nothing charged up in his hand or his chest - there was no reactor, but it was suddenly so very hard to breathe. His cock was still half hard, bumping against his thigh as he rounded the bed to stand in front of Jane, not quite able to hide her from view as she scrambled into her discarded dress. 

"HOW DARE YOU" Thor roared as he raised his hammer above his head. 

Tony thought about how much it would hurt, how badly he was going to lose this fight (at least until Extremis healed him up for round 2), but also how badly Loki didn't want Thor to know he was alive. Maybe it was a foolish decision, but he was a fool in love: sue him. 

"Show the lady some respect, Flash," Tony joked, rolling his eyes even as he shifted on his feet. Two more inches to the left and Steve was no longer able to catch bare flesh (not that he was looking, he'd turned his face away from Jane the second he realised she was naked). "Although it's nothing you haven't already seen, right?"

Thor's scowl darkened (if such a thing were possible) and outside lightning split the sky, brighter and bigger than before, with a crack of thunder loud enough to shake the glass chasing it across the sky. Thor moved almost as fast as Jane did. He swung his hammer, as Jane darted off of the bed and shoved Tony out of the way. She leant back, just enough to avoid being struck across the face, but it was like deja vu. 

The hiss of displaced air as Mjölnir swung between them; Thor enraged bellowing; Loki's attempts to avoid being knocked into the next century. Only, this time, Thor wasn't aiming for Loki. But Loki had been hit before, several times, and he knew how much damage Mjölnir could cause. Tony wouldn't survive if Thor managed to land a hit on him (regardless of his faith in Extremis, Mjölnir was forged from a _star_ by _gods_ ). Loki would, so Loki ducked and dived between them, keeping Thor from Tony and, hopefully, Mjölnir from him. 

"How dare you touch her!" Thor roared, as he lifted his arm back up again for another swing. 

"It's not his fault!" Loki responded, voice as loud as his brother's but much higher, more feminine. 

Thor turned to him then, eyes wide and watery, bottom lip trembling. He looked utterly devastated, and Tony might have felt bad for the guy except Thor had just tried to kill him. "Jane," he half moaned, half pleaded, "why?" 

'Jane' sighed loudly, shaking her head. Loki rolled his shoulders back, took a few more steps to the left so he was once again directly between Thor and Tony, and then allowed his disguise to melt away. "Did you mourn me, brother?" Loki asked, trying for snide but only achieving tired. Mjölnir hit the ground hard enough to shake it, and Thor followed suit, fingers trembling until he wrapped them around his knees and held on as the world was pulled out from underneath him again. 

"You're alive," he breathed. 

"Uh, you didn't know?" Tony asked, one eyebrow raised in confusion. 

"I knew," Bucky muttered from where he was still in the doorway, hesitant to interfere. 

" _You_ knew?" Tony asked, risking a glance over at Bucky, before turning back to Thor. "Ugh, big guy? You gonna keep the hammer down, right? Cause I need to find my pants... but I can put on the suit instead?" His skin was still glowing, fainter than before, but Extremis was ready and waiting below the skin, and around the implants that call the suit his flesh felt like it was burning, melting, stinging, waiting for the implants to be utilised. 

Steve watched it all with his mouth wide open, eyes so round they might actually roll out of his head if he wasn't careful. Loki, too, was surprised - not at his big reveal, no, but at the fact that Tony already knew. Though why he was surprised was anyone's guess. He could imagine Tony's voice, his response if Loki were to question him: 'genius, remember, babe?' he'd say, with a smug grin and a wink of his warm brown eyes, and that familiar cock of his hip to one side, half 'come get it' and a little 'you don't deserve it' simultaneously. 

So he turned his attention away from Tony, and on to the root of this entire debacle. "How does it feel to be abandoned by someone who claimed to love you, _brother_?" The word was spat like a curse, nothing like the endearment it was supposed to be, and Thor flinched as it dripped like poison from Loki's tongue. His hair was stuck to his cheeks and forehead with sweat, the dress Jane had been wearing had shifted into a simple tunic, barely long enough to hide his crotch, and there was a flush high on his cheeks that spoke of what he had been up to earlier. His teeth were sharp when he bared them, lips pulled back into a snarl, as he continued to hiss, "to be overlooked? Forgotten? Replaced!" 

It seemed to dawn on Thor in that moment that Loki was _alive_. As in, not dead. Alive, and real, and safe, and _not dead_! Before any of them could react, Thor surged to his feet, stumbled a little at first and then all but threw himself at Loki. His arms locked tight around Loki's neck, practically choking him as he crushed the younger man into his chest, rocked him from side to side and sobbed (loud, wet, disgusting sounds) into Loki's sweaty hair. Fortunately, he thought uncharitably, he was already in need of a shower. 

"Right," Tony butt in, with a roll of his eyes, making sure to catch Loki's gaze first. "I'm getting pants." As he grabbed a pair of well-worn yoga bottoms (comfy and loose and easier to wiggle into than jeans when covered with various bodily fluids) he heard Steve mutter something about "this" and "uncomfortable" and "insane", and Bucky whisper back:

"I still don't remember much, but Hydra can't have been worse than this!" 

They left the room, Steve still partially shell shocked but Tony expected the shouting to begin anytime soon, and Bucky still grumbling under his breath. Philanthropist that he was, Tony followed them, and left the brothers to... bond, in peace. He kindly ignored Loki's mouthed "I hate you", chalking it up to temporary insanity brought on by having his brains fucked out by yours truly (but also that the overwhelming force of being hugged by Thor for a full 4 minutes so far was probably cutting off the oxygen to his brain)! Tony winked back, mouthed, "I love you too," and shut the door behind him. 

"So, did you guys have that living room picnic Bruce was talking about? Or is that a thing that could still happen? Cause I'm kinda hungry, and those sandwiches looked pretty good." 

"We saved you some sandwiches, Tony," Steve said with a small smile, "but I can make you an omelette if you want?"

"Indeed, you are as noble, kind, and true as the Smithsonian says you are. A little sassier perhaps, but still, 5 stars, would keep you around. Do you need a job? I could employ you? Tony Stark's personal chef, it would look great between 'world war two vet' and 'star-spangled man with a plan', don't you think?" He turned to Bucky, grinning as he noticed the twitch of Bucky's upper lip before a metal hand came up to scratch at his nose (obviously hiding the smile he couldn't quite fight off). 

Steve's disappointed glance was enough to shut Tony up, but the little wobble of Steve's bottom lip had Tony magnanimously offering to make the omelette instead. Fucking Steve, fuck him, Tony groused as he switched on the coffee machine, pride still a little stung from Steve's immediate, resounding "NO". The Smithsonian was wrong; Steve wasn't 'true', he was a fucking liar, and Tony so could cook, thank you very much!

When Loki eventually joined them, still wearing his own skin, having pried himself free from Thor, Tony was done with his omelette and the super soldiers had eaten all of the remaining sandwiches. He seemed less displeased by that than by having been left alone with Thor - who had trailed him into the kitchen like a silent, unwanted shadow. Thor, however, pouted about the lack of food, but considering he had tried to kill Tony earlier, well, Tony figured he could starve - or at least pay for his own delivery this one time. 

Loki grabbed a mug of coffee and sank into the chair closest to Tony's. 

"So," Steve broached carefully, fingers playing with a tea towel to keep himself from breaking more crockery (he did that accidentally sometimes when he was concerned or angry or frustrated - which is why Tony hid all of the good china). 

"So," Bucky responded with a shrug. "I knew."

"I knew," Tony added with another eye roll. 

Thor stayed silent, which, you know, the least he could have done was apologise for the door. Loki rolled his eyes too, the 'of course you knew' left unsaid before he shifted closer to lean his head on Tony's shoulder. 

"I didn't know, so could someone explain please?" Steve was met with two blank stares, a glare from Thor, and the widest grin Loki had ever pulled. He opened his mouth to respond, but Steve held up a hand. "Actually, you know what, I think- yeah, I'm getting a beer." Steve didn't offer anyone else a drink before he walked out of the kitchen and into the living room where the bar was. Tony heard the clink of glass against the counter, of stoppers being pulled out of bottles, and liquid splashing into the glass. Then again. And again, before the living room went silent. 

Steve didn't come back. 

_XXX_

Steve eventually got his explanation, but from Tony, though, not Loki. Which was better, all things considered, because when Tony finally got _his_ explanation, Loki kind of sounded like a dick. It wasn’t exactly the way Tony wanted to introduce his boyfriend to the group. ‘Hey guys, remember Loki, tried to kill us all that one time, also pretended to be his brother's girlfriend to break Thor's heart by fucking his brother's friends, but stopped after fucking me, cause I have a magic dick and ruined him for you all? He says hi’ wouldn't have sounded as great as ‘hiding from an intergalactic warlord, figured we'd sooner protect Thor's girlfriend than brother, and we kind of fell in love, I felt terrible then realised it wasn't Jane, but thought I could save Loki from himself, please don't be mad Stevie' did. 

Steve shouted as Tony expected he would. However, a lot of the shouting was at Bucky, who admitted to knowing all along it wasn't Jane because - in his own words - he had stalked the Avengers, their friends, their families, their co-workers, in order to ascertain the best way to wipe Hydra's enemies out. He didn't do that anymore, but he still remembered how and why and what he had learnt (for the most part) and wasn't that creepy? Steve thought it had been irresponsible; Bucky should have said something, what if Tony had been hurt, what if Loki had killed someone, to which Bucky had replied, "I'd have protected Tony" while making no mention of anyone else and Tony responded, "but he _didn't_ because of my magic dick", and now Steve wasn't talking to either of them. 

But Tony wasn't worried about that; Steve would come around, he always did. 

Tony had more important things to focus on, like the way Loki clenched around his cock with every thrust and roll of his hips; the way he whispered "I love you" in his ear after he came, half deafening him with his screaming first; how close he was to coming, hard enough to hammer nails, aching and desperate and so fucking close. Loki's legs went slack for a second, still around his waist but not squeezing as tight, and then they tightened even further, pulling Tony as close as he could get him. Hands wound fingers into Tony's hair, pulling his face up so their lips could meet. Loki kissed, but Tony mostly panted, breath hot against Loki's mouth, tongue making kitten licks in Loki's direction every time the god move close enough. His hips stuttered as Loki clenched around his cock on purpose, muscles loose but warm and wet and perfect, jerked harshly before he picked up his rhythm again. He thrust harder now, one hand moving from where it was braced against the mattress to grab Loki's left leg, pulling it up and away from Tony's hips. He felt tighter now, and Loki groaned at the drag of Tony's cock along his prostate. Tony thrust again, then again, twice more, each time hitting Loki's prostate dead on before he went still - a low groan escaped him, as he came, come coating Loki's insides in sharp, sporadic bursts. 

Once Tony had regained his ability to talk and think, and _breathe_ because fuck that was better than every other time they'd fucked, he noticed Loki was carding his fingers through his hair gently, murmuring something that Tony was 99.9% sure wasn't in English. "Well?" Loki asked, eyebrow arching and teeth peeking out to nibble on his bottom lip (for all that he attempted to joke, he was rather anxious about the answer). 

"Ten out of ten," Tony told him, as he pulled out and rolled onto his back. He tugged Loki against him, smiling as the god tucked himself into Tony's side, fitting perfectly. "Would bang again. Give me twenty minutes and I _will_ bang again. Scouts honour!" 

Loki snorted, rolled his eyes and said, "You weren't a scout. It doesn't count, darling." 

That didn't stop him from taking Tony up on his offer, twenty minutes later. 

**The End**

And that’s a wrap, people. I was going to write full smut but, well, most of this was written at work and my boss is 73 years old and he sits right behind me so I thought I had better not risk it! I hope you enjoyed it regardless! Feel free to let me know (in fact, I actively encourage it, with cookies and coffee and virtual hugs)!


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